Grayslake native competing on TBS's 'King of the Nerds'

Grayslake native Josh Wittenkeller will compete on the second season of TBS's "King of the Nerds."

Grayslake native Josh Wittenkeller will compete on the second season of TBS's "King of the Nerds." (Photo by Trae Patton)

Josh Wittenkeller has put his passion for sci-fi, comic books and video games to good use.

Besides running a Pokemon and Nintendo-focused YouTube channel (TheJWittz, with more than 800,000 subscribers), the Grayslake native will compete for the $100,000 grand prize on the TBS reality show, “King of the Nerds.” The reality competition, which premieres Thursday, is hosted by “Revenge of the Nerds” stars Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong.

Why does Wittenkeller believe he is the king of nerds?

“(E)ven though I was constantly berated for the things that I liked while growing up, I was able to fight through the insults and turn my passion into a dream job that supports me,” Wittenkeller said by email Saturday. “While many people keep their hobbies and work lives separate, I've been fortunate enough to both enjoy my passion and share it with others on a daily basis.”